“I think we will blindfold you again,” she decided. “As nice as it is for you to see everything, it could lead to some anxiety, and we want you nice and relaxed, so,” she picked up the mask from along his side and trailed it up his ribs, causing him to draw in a sharp breath. She leaned over and kissed him as she drew it over his eyes. As he had done the last time, he closed his eyes within the covering. The blindfold did help. It should have made him anxious, he thought, not to be able to see, whilst tied down to a bed, but being blindfolded and bound gave both distance from and a release of responsibility, whilst also focussing him on the sensation of their touch on his body. She ran her hands down his torso, the heat of her palms soothing. He felt the rubber ring holding Shadow’s mouth open and the heat of Shadow’s tongue descended upon him, and gasped. The c-k ring that Shadow had placed on him earlier was a blessing, he thought, because the sensation, blindfolded, was intense,

Shadow was right. As he had followed up the cases from the missed calls, Raven’s mind began to dwell on everything from the night before and pull it apart, turn it around, make it sordid. “I am not a f-king girl,” he told himself sternly. “I am not being taken advantage of by some f-ked up high school golden boys. I am making decisions as a consenting adult, doing nothing illegal, and have nothing to be ashamed of.” He did not listen to himself, and by the time Shadow called to say that band practise was done, Raven had worked himself into a dark place. He would f-king take them to Vice and Victor’s, he decided, and then he was out and done. He had gone too far down that f-king rabbit hole, he needed to get out now, before he started f-king rabbits or blowing smoke rings with stoned caterpillars. Vice and Victor were his best friends, but f-k, this was going too far for the sakes of friendship. He needed to do this one last thing, tell them he was done, and then find a pretty, whol

After the argument in the car, Raven was surprised to receive a text message with an address and time for the gig. He debated whether to go as he changed shirts three times in front of his bathroom mirror, finally settling on a plain black t-shirt and jeans. He shrugged on his leather biker’s jacket and ran a comb through his hair.“Shit,” he told himself in the mirror as he fidgeted with his hair and ran his nails through the stubble on his cheeks contemplating the value of shaving. “You are like a nervous virgin dressing for her prom date.”His phone rang, and he scowled at the display, before shrugging. “Hey Claudia.”“Raven,” Claudia Callahan replied. “I got word that you were asking around about Gregory Holmsworth?”Raven tensed. “Yeah, Claudia. I have been asked by a client to dig into him.”“What client?”“What is it to you?”“Hey, you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.”“Shit, Claudia, could you be any more cliched?”She laughed. “If it works, Raven. C’mon, man. Who are yo

In the morning, Vixen left the two boys curled up in bed. Raven’s eyes opened briefly as she left the shower, before he closed them again. Shadow wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer, and snuggled into Raven’s dark hair. “Aww,” she leaned over to deliver them kisses, breathing in the warm scent of their skin. “Snuggly boys.” “Don’t go,” Raven tried to pull her back into bed, but she laughed and eased away with lingering kisses. “I must, my pet.” Raven heaved a sigh. “It’s not even eight.” “Do you have to work today?” She wondered as she sat on the edge of the bed to lace up her boots. “Should do,” he muttered, lured to the edge of sleep by Shadow’s hot body against his. “Have a surveillance job that gets active around ten.” “Should I set you an alarm?” She offered. He groaned pressing his face into the pillow. She took that as a yes and programmed the smart device on the bedside to wake him at nine thirty. She paused in the doorway in order to look at them with

“Alright,” Vixen told herself as the gates to Gregory’s house opened to admit her. “It is easy.” “We will be here with you,” Detective Callahan said in her ear. Vixen adjusted her hair to cover the earpiece. It was skin coloured and barely noticeable, but if she were caught with it, it would not only give away the entire plan, but also her part in it. “That is nice, but we both know there is nothing you can do if I get busted. Not without giving away twelve months of investigation, right? So, you are not going to come riding to my rescue if I get into trouble.” “Have you changed your mind?” Claudia sounded strained. “No,” Vixen eased the Ferrari into the parking spots. “No. This will make Miranda safe, and you promised to leave Gregory alone, so no, I have to do this.” She drew in a deep breath and fixed her lipstick, before picking up her handbag, and opening the car door. She adjusted the mask on her face, and flicked her hair over her shoulders, before strolling up to the fron